The Real Purpose of This Blog
I have to admit I am not a blogger at heart. Writing has never really been my thing. When I decided to start this blog last year, my main aim was to make money with it. But see what happened; I did only a few dollars on it not even enough to buy me a new pair of jeans (haha). So, I have been thinking what to do with this blog, whether to just let the domain expire or keep it and make use of it.
So, I guess as from now I will just post about what comes to my mind, whether it be something helpful or just a products’ review. I just did not see time passing by, just noticed the last post was in August last year. Since then lots of things changed in my life. I had changed job, no longer have much free time for myself.
Ah, I think I know what I will do with this blog. I will be using it to keep track of my achievements. I really feel great sometimes when I think about some of the things I have done in the past. A few of them makes me feel proud and definitely if I continued with these I would probably be better off today…
Oh well at least I am learning along the way, I made a promise to myself today; I won’t be lazy anymore. Let’s see if I can keep a promise to myself. I have set a few goals for myself till the end of this year, so far I have achieved only 1% of it. Not really great results I know, my problem is that I just blame it on time when I know very well if I want to get the time I will find it. This is what happened today.
Last thing I would like to add, I have also been reading many time management ebooks lately, they seems to be already helping me a lot. I will also need to read some financial ebooks, I am really bad at money management, though I keep track of all my expenses, I always end up spending more than I earn :O (I hope in a few months when I will read this posts I will laugh at myself) lol
Working is Just Like A Game
Before I start sharing my thoughts let me warn you that I am not going to tell you to play during work time. I will just be comparing how similar it is when you are playing a game and working.
Don’t you hate it when you are stuck in the middle of a big project and do not really have a clue how to make it work? It happens to me many times and I really hate it when it happens, but I learned to deal with it by taking it as if I am playing a game!
Let me explain, I know it sounds silly but I am more than serious here. I have noticed that many times when some people are stuck when they are working on something they will just give up and move to something else, sure there are some work that we do that are really annoying but we have not choice. We have to complete that task. So how can you take it as a game? Take any game that you have just started playing, at times you do not know what to do because it is not explained anywhere, you have to find out by yourself. No matter how much time you are wasting, you need to find the solution to the game so you can move to the next level. Right?
I have that game on my phone, it is called Qaudradrop a bit like tetris but it has musical notes falling instead. When I started playing that game I was losing very fast since I did not know how to move the falling parts. It is a very addictive game and I find myself spending a lot of time with it (every time I want to beat the highest record that I have reached). Yesterday I have reached 100k points and I have been saying to myself once I reached that point I will stop playing it which I did not… now I want to beat that new record.
So, why not try to apply that same strategy to the work you are doing. In fact I will be applying it to affiliate marketing. I am new and I know I can be discouraged very easily, this can keep me motivated. Every time I will feel like I should give up, I will say to myself that I have not reached my goal yet (that is to make my first sale). Of course, when I will reach that goal I will set new goals.
image source: busy with puzzles
How To Use Your Own Domain With Blogger
I had started a few blogs in the past, all on Blogger.com. I found blogger easy to use and also you can have your own ads on it unlike having a blog at blogname.wordpress.com (that is having a free blog). It was really fun to post and seeing the post count increasing weekly but how I would love to have it on my own domain.
Now, I do not mean that having my blog at blogname.blogspot.com is not good but having your own domain adds your personal touch to it and it also make the blog address more professional. I made this little tutorial as it was not very easy when I tried using a domain on one of my blogger blogs. Also, I assume that you bought your domain on godaddy.com as it is where I bought mine, not sure if the setting is same for other registrar, this may be useful if you are not at godaddy. You also have the option to buy a domain directly via blogger, this is the easiest option as they will set everything for you automatically.
Here is what you should do, it is as easy as 1, 2, 3 
1. Login to your godaddy account
2. Choose the domain that you would like to use for your blog
3. Click on “Total DNS Control and MX Records”
4. Now click on “Add New CNAME Record”
5. Enter your domain name without the “www” and “ghs.google.com” as above and click ok. I suggest you do not put www, as you will have the option to redirect it the www version later from blogger.
6. Go to your blogger account, then Settings and then Publishing.
7. Once you are there click on “Custom Domain” which will lead you to a page that looks like this:
8. Add your domain in the space provided in this format “www.domain.com” and save settings.
9. Do not forget to tick the box that says “Redirect domain.com to www.domain.com” and save settings again.
10. Done already? Yes! I hope it saved you some time.
Everything should be working like a charm now. Also you should not worry about losing your previous readers as your old blogger address will redirect to your domain.
10 Useful Plugins for a Fresh Wordpress Installation
I still remember the first time I installed wordpress, I was all excited and started posting. The post looked great but where is the option to reply directly under a comment? Why I can’t see avatars next to the commentator names like other blogs have? I am sure you also asked yourself a few questions when you first installed wordpress… I did! I had to spend a lot of time to look for all the plugins that wanted.
Wordpress is great already even with the default template, one of the reason why I moved from blogger is that here I have the freedom to do whatever I want, plugins are what make wordpress even better.
To save you some time I have put together 10 plugins that might be useful if you are installing wordpress for the first time, also I will keep this post as a reference for myself if I have to install wordpress again. I will list the plugins in no particular order.
Like I was saying above, I have been looking for an option where I could reply to a comment directly below it rather than having to quote everyone who commented and all being completely down the page. This is one of my favorite plugin.
I personally do not like having my archives on my sidebar. After 1-2 years it will take a lot of space there. The plugin is what solved everything for me. Now all my previous posts are on this archives page.
This is one cool plugin that redirects all your wordpress feeds to feedburner. I had a hard time trying to figure out how some blogs had their feed url in the address bar to point to their feedburner feed. It makes it much easier to know how many readers you have on your blog.
Very easy to setup and does the thing, the contact form does not ask for much details from whoever is trying to contact you. You can check my contact page, it is this plugin that I am using.
If you are like me and love checking your blog statistics every time, this is one great plugin that gives you details about the 50 recent visitors on your blog, top search keywords from the search engines, well some basic stuffs. I know there are a few other plugins for stats but this one is my favorite. Of course this is not the only way I track my visitors, I also use Google Analytics.
If you want to add a youtube video safely to your blog without breaking the whole layout, this is the plugin you need. I remember I added a youtube video to one of my blog but when I checked the post my sidebar was completely down (I had copied the code directly from youtube). With the plugin you can choose the size you want the video display size to be and also the color of background to fit your needs. Very easy to use, you just need to add “v” in the video link you want to add “httpv://”. E.g.
This is one cool little plugin which allows your top commentators to have a link to their blog or site in your sidebar. It is a great way to encourage people to comment on your blog. You can see the plugin in my sidebar.
If you tag your posts, this plugin will display a list of related posts. This is great as you are sure your older posts will be read by new readers.
9. MyAvatars
This plugin give you the option to add mybloglog.com avatars to your comments. When someone add a comment they will have their image displayed next to it. I find this plugin really nice as in some way it bring some life to how a post is displayed.
10. WP-Polls
No need to explain about this one, it is to add polls to your posts. Like below:
Loading ...I Still Have a Lot to Learn About Bum Marketing
If you have read my last post “Obsessed with writing perfect posts” you know already that I am trying to earn with affiliate marketing. Surely it is not easy and I am applying those techniques that I have read here and there. In fact I am trying the bum marketing method, a method that many affiliates are using these days as it is free.
I have already heard about the bum marketing technique in the past, also read how some have tried it but it did not really work out for them. I think if it did not work then it means they have not been trying hard enough. I am finding it hard to start myself, definitely PPC is a better option but I do not really want to spend money on this. It is very hard to stay motivated too when there is no one to tell you exactly what to do, I had to set up some kind of plan for myself to know what I will work on daily. A bit like I do for job, it is probably the fact of working for others that makes it difficult when I have to do things for myself, I will have to work on changing that mindset.
I have use the title “I Still Have a Lot to Learn About Bum Marketing” as I will have to change the way I look at things. I already mentioned that I read about bum marketing method before, in my mind it was just writing articles and submit it like crazy and you are done. It fact it is not exactly that, you surely need to write articles but you need to know how to do it right and I am sure this is the main reason many have failed at it. I am definitely not good at it yet to explain what is wrong or right since I actually have only 2 articles live at ezinearticles.com. Both articles have got around 50 views and I have 8 clicks to the urls I have added in the articles.
This is only the beginning but I will not give up any time soon maybe if things are not working out in 3 to 6 months then I will just move to other techniques that I am already trying along but article marketing is my priority right now. I am sure I will learn a lot during this long journey and will update this blog more regularly with what I am learning. It is actually a good thing that I started affiliate marketing, I am getting more things to write about and my post posting regularly is important will actually make sense (to me at least).
image source: learning
Obsessed with Writing Perfect Posts
I have not been blogging much lately but still I have tons of posts in drafts, that left me thinking why I have not yet fully written the posts yet and published them? Reading through the blog again I think my problem is that I have the need to make my posts look perfect and have a bit of a professional look. I do not know how and why but this has affected the way I blog in a way, since I am now posting less regularly and I have the feeling that what I write is not really good enough to be blogged about.
I did not really discussed about the issue with anyone but I think everyone would suggest me to write about whatever comes to my mind which is what I usually do but it is just the way I want the post to look that cause a problem… I am obsessed with perfection! I know how fun it can be to write daily or as often as possible and seeing comments coming it, I really enjoy blogging but I also need to change my blogging mindset.
Also while writing I am not sure about the length of post, here also there is no limit but I need to have an average, all these thoughts are killing this blog slowly and I need to find a solution fast so that I post more regularly.
Okay enough bragging about what is killing this blog, I have been a bit busy setting up a few stuffs about affiliate marketing. I am not sure if it is my thing yet but I will not know unless I try right? So, hopefully if everything works out fine, I will be glad to write about my affiliate marketing experience in future posts to come.
And if by chance there are any of my readers who are already into affiliate marketing and have tips to share are most welcome.
photo credit: perfection
Build it or Break it
First off, let me excuse myself for not posting these last few days just after Posting Regularly is Important (irony! you say it). I know I might not have a lot of readers yet but I will work hard to make this blog more interesting and hopefully post more often. In fact there are been many things happening in my life lately both personal and professional and I was in a situation where I really do not know what is best for me.
Concerning personal part, I always deal with it and all end up going fine in a way or another. But for work it is not so easy to handle things and make them work as you would like to as all changes depends on a large group of people where not everyone agrees with each other. I will not get too much in detail but just so you get an idea. it is one of the worse thing to have relatives or a loved one work with you or under your supervision.
I am going to talk about it in general terms and give my thoughts about it as I am sure this same type of situation happens in almost all companies where the employers either
1. do not have managing skills or
2. they think because they employed you, you owe them something.
It is really amazing how only one person can influence others either positively or negatively but as bad luck was with us the person (let’s call her B) I am talking about has completely destroyed everyone emotionally and probably being proud of doing it as she did not even seem to notice that she was destroying the business. Boss (we are going to call him A) is the husband of B, A most of the time is abroad. He has probably put B in charge here not to have some outsiders run the business but this must have been the worst move he ever made. Why? Well since she joined everything went bad, we all got confused with all the changes she tried to bring and made everyone feel disgusted and discouraged about their job. I wonder how much negative aura she brought with her!
I have been trying hard not to let her ways of doing affect me or my team. But it went too far recently when B started talking rudely to some of us which is completely unacceptable! Being the wife of A no one dared to tell him about how B was completely destroying all of us instead one after another started sending their resignation letter but I think boss guessed it already. Unfortunately there was no turning back even if Boss told B to leave the company.
As for me, I will resign too but not right now I still have a few things to achieve for my own gain. You can call me selfish but seriously I do not think I am, I need to think about my own future too and leave as a mature person.
photo credit: my general mood
Posting Regularly is Important
If you are planning to be a serious blogger, it is important to set a blogging frequency for yourself. I have noticed that it is not easy for most bloggers to post daily and some days you might just have a blank mind.
Leaving too many gaps between posts is not a good thing as your blog will grow slower and you probably do not want this to happen. Another thing I have noticed is when I do not posts I get less visitors, like me you probably want your visitors count to increase daily and not the opposite.
I am sure as a blogger you must have asked yourself this question too. How many times should I post daily or weekly? I have checked around and found that many bloggers already wrote about this topic, this means blogging frequency is important if you want your blog to be successful. According to me there is no exact posting frequency as it all depends on the person who is writing, but it is important to keep posting at the same pace. Here are a few interesting articles about post frequency:
Post Frequency – How Many Blog Posts are Too Many?
Does the frequency of your blog posts matter?
And this one that I think is the most interesting, Why Blog Post Frequency Does Not Matter Anymore. It is true that if your blog is receiving more than 5k visitors daily and you already have over a hundred posts but if you are a new blogger it does not really make sense. Let’s say I am participating in social sites to bring traffic to my blog, what if I don’t have anything to give my readers?
Of course when I am talking about a good posting frequency I am not saying that you should post daily but at least 3-4 times a week is good to start with, but if you can post daily it is even better.
photo credit: The toys after purchasing a new laptop…
The 4 Main Types of Blogs
I was thinking about blogs the other day (I do that everyday but this time it was some deep thoughts). Why some bloggers choose a specific topic to write about while others will write just about everything. According to me, blogs can be put in 4 main categories. Categorizing them in these categories can help me a lot when I subscribe to feeds, how? This way I will have only 4 main category, of course each will have different subcategories and also I will not get confused too much as I usually subscribe to all the blogs I find interesting. What are these types of blog that I keep talking about?
The General Blogs
Most blog will go in this category, I noticed that many blogger choose to blog about general stuffs as it is much easier to post more regularly if you don’t choose a specific topic to post about. These are often referred to as “niche-free” in the blogging world.
I guess for the time being this blog fall in this category too, since I am mostly posting about all and everything I can think of but at the same time I try in a way or another please the reader too. Servizot might go niche someday if I feel I know enough to post about the topic I am going to choose but I think having the opportunity to post about everything I want is the best that can do.
The Niche Blogs
The most successful blogs go in this category. The blogger usually choose a specific topic and always write about it. Of course the topic chosen will have various facets of it to be covered, so if the blogs you read most often are niche blogs you don’t have to worry that the author will run out of ideas any time soon. Some of my favorite blogs in this category are: Problogger.net, a blogger who writes about blogging and ways to make money blogging, a must read for all bloggers. PerezHilton.com, a celebrity gossip blog with very addictive content updated everyday.
Why these blogs are the most successful is because the blogger is writing about a specific topic and since the readers know that at these blogs they will find what they are looking for, they will definitely come back often.
The Personal Blogs
The online personal diary, if I can call it like that. It is not going to be same as the diary that you use to have where you wrote about your crush and all those secret things you do not want to share with anyone since you are sharing everything you write with the whole world. The personal blogs will most of the time be about the author’s life, the things he is doing everyday. These blogs can be a good way to keep friends updated about what you are doing but also many other readers since human is curious!
I did not choose to keep a personal blog since I do not really have things to say about myself and I am not the type of person who likes having attention on me but that does not mean I do not read other people’s personal blogs, I am human… I am curious too. *smile*
The Corporate Blogs
Yes businesses have their blogs too. It is the new trend in the corporate world, it is a good way to keep clients updated about how the company is doing, the latest projects and so on. Most online businesses I know already have a blog. If your company does not have a blog, consider starting one or you will be a left out. Having a blog for your company is almost same as the craze a few years ago for all businesses to have a website.
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You may have noticed that I did not have a category for professional blogs since they are in the niche category. Also I wrote about category of blogs and not bloggers since a blogger can have blogs in more than one category that I listed above. So, in which category does your blog fall in?
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photo credit: a little black & white, when everything is possible, satisfied satisfying single day, signing the deal
Rihanna – Take A Bow Music Video
Enjoy the video:
I really like Rihanna, I have been a fan of her since Pon de Reply. Take a Bow is another great song from her, also her short haircut suits her very well. Do you like it?
And here is the lyrics if you want to sing along with her:
Oh, How about a round of applause, Yeah
A standing ovation
Oooooo oh, Yeah
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
You look so dumb right now
Standing outside my house
Trying to apologize
You’re so ugly when you cry
Please, just cut it out
[Chorus]
Don’t tell me you’re sorry cuz you’re not
Baby when I know you’re only sorry you got caught
But you put on quite a show
You really had me going
But now it’s time to go
Curtain’s finally closing
That was quite a show
Very entertaining
But it’s over now (But it’s over now)
Go on and take a bow
Grab your clothes and get gone (get gone)
You better hurry up
Before the sprinklers come on (come on)
Talkin’ bout’
Girl, I love you, you’re the one
This just looks like a re-run
Please, what else is on (on)
[Chorus]
And don’t tell me you’re sorry cuz you’re not
Baby when I know you’re only sorry you got caught
But you put on quite a show
You really had me going
But now it’s time to go
Curtain’s finally closing
That was quite a show
Very entertaining
But it’s over now (But it’s over now)
Go on and take a bow
[Bridge]
Oh, And the award for
The best lie goes to you (goes to you)
For making me believe (that you)
That you could be faithful to me
Let’s hear your speech, Out
How about a round of applause
A standing ovation
But you put on quite a show
Really had me going
Now it’s time to go
Curtain’s finally closing
That was quite a show
Very entertaining
But it’s over now (But it’s over now)
Go on and take a bow
But it’s over now
Get Rihanna ringtones on your phone
lyrics via: metrolyrics
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